By: Jim Marsh

Every week, some cards from Magic the Gathering increase and decease in value based upon a number of factors.

Let’s take a look at some of the cards whose values have changed the most and the factors behind why those changes have occurred.

10 Big Winners of the Week

10. Mana Confluence (Journey into Nyx)
From $11.70 to $12.97 (17.16%)

The new paradigm shift for Magic blocks and rotation have a lot of people excited but wondering what the future will hold in store. The new plan means that Journey into Nyx will be the last set to suffer the 6:2:1 drafting ratio. Now larger sets to smaller sets will be closer to 5:1.

This and looming rotation have cause a lot of interest in Journey into Nyx cards. The fact that Conspiracy arrived and cannibalized drafts makes  this one of the least opened sets we will have for a while.

Let us start with our new and improved City of Brass. It is already played in standard Naya Hexproof and Selesnya Aggro.

I can only imagine that the more aggressive Khans wedges will want to be running four of these as well.

It is also being used in Legacy Dredge and I would not be surprised to see these in modern either.

You will want your play set for a long time to come.

9. Eidolon of the Great Revel (Journey into Nyx)
From $6.30 to $7.44 (18.10%)

Standard Burn. Modern Burn. Legacy Burn.

There are varieties of those flavors but this card comes down and deals damage.

It has already helped propel legacy lists to Top 8s. It is an all star from a set that was not opened much. These are going to be going up for a while. These are a safe hold for the next few months. A year from now when they are getting ready to rotate I would try to find as many copies as you can from standard players. They will be a good hold for quite a while to come.

8. Keranos, God of Storms (Journey into Nyx)
From $7.83 to $9.29 (18.65%)

Keranos, God of Storms is finding a home in every format imaginable. He is a steady engine of card advantage. He is great even if your deck has no way make him a creature.

He is in standard RUG (Temur) Chord and Grixis Control.

He is in modern sideboards for Splinter Twin, Kiki Pod, UWR (Jeskai) Delver and UWR Twin.

He is in legacy UWR Miracles.

He is even in a vintage Grixis deck.

He is a powerful commander and a god that gives you free Lightning Bolts. There is so much to love about him.

I do not know what Jeskai and Temur decks will look like Khans but I guarantee they will run a couple copies of Keranos. I would say he is an excellent pick up.

7. Temple of Epiphany (Journey into Nyx)
From $5.20 to $6.23 (19.81%)

Temple of Epiphany is used in standard Azorius Control, Esper Control and even WUR (Jeskai) Control.

It is even seeing play in Modern Ad Nauseam and Sun Titan Control decks.

We are going to get new lands in Khans to allow for wedges to be played. I still feel the value of scrying is powerful enough in slower colors and Azorius fits that bill perfectly.

It is losing a lot of steam at rotation but this will be one of the better scrylands to have soon.

Get them now.

6. Sliver Legion (Future Sight)
From $38.49 to $46.89 (21.82%)

Sliver Legion is going in everyone’s casual and commander sliver decks.

The demand has always been there but short supply and the resent printings of Sliver Hive and Sliver Hivelord have people brewing again.

Keep in mind that both Sliver Overlord and Sliver Queen have seen reprints in supplemental products. Let that sink in for a moment. Sliver Queen is on the reserved list and they still reprinted her in oversized form in order to keep players happy.

There is no way we do not see a similar reprinting for Legion. It could be Duel Deck: Slivers vs Eldrazi or in Modern Masters 2. I just know that it will happen. I would cash out while everyone is excited about having an indestructible Coat of Arms.

5. Slaughter Pact (Future Sight)
From $6.04 to $7.73 (27.98%)

Slaughter Pact is all over modern in a variety of decks. It is used in Jund, Junk (Abzan) and even Amulet of Vigor decks as removal and a win condition.

It is even seeing play in Legacy OmniTell.

The popularity and power of a free kill spell are undeniable. I think these are a good place to park some value. It will only be a matter of time before they hit $10 again.

The Modern Masters version can still be purchased for $6.59 and sold for $7.23.

4. Xenagos, the Reveler (Theros)
From $12.86 to $16.89 (31.34%)

Xenagos is all over standard. He is in Jund Walkers, Jund Monsters, GR Devotion and RUG (Temur) Chord decks.

He showed up in three of the Top 8 decks in SCG Hartsdale on 8/24/2014. There were eight out of a possible thirty two copies played.

He is well positioned for rotation and I expect him to break $20 in the coming weeks.

You can still get him for as little as $12.75 and sell him for up to $14.52.

3. Maralen of the Mornsong (Morningtide)
From $2.15 to $3.20 (48.84%)

When I first saw Ob Nixilis, Unshackled I thought of Maralen. Together they deal thirteen damage a turn to each player. The problem is that your opponents get to tutor for answers.

She is part of an incredible commander combo deck.

Cast her and tutor for Ad Nauseam. Draw your entire deck which consists of Sickening Dreams, Dark Sphere and about ninety swamps.

Play the Dark Sphere and cast Dreams large enough to kill everyone but you.

This is either hilarious or terrible depending on which side of the table you are.

Either way this combo is getting attention. You can still buy her for as little as $2.00 and sell her for as much as $2.23 or just hold it and hope novelty gets her to $10.

2. Nyx-Fleece Ram (Journey into Nyx)
From $1.01 to $1.64 (62.38%)

Nyx-Fleece Ram is bit of a work horse in any control deck that runs white. It has high enough defense to block almost any threat while nudging your life total out of burn range.

It is being used in Azorius Control, Orzhov Midrange, Esper Control and even in Boros Burn sideboards to help in the mirror match.

However I think it has had its heyday.

White control decks are losing Sphinx’s Revelation, Supreme Verdict, Detention Sphere, Blood Baron of Vizkopa, Archangel of Thune, etc. All of the Ram’s best friends are moving away.

The next block will be wedges which have been a little slower anyway. They may not need the Ram to keep aggro decks under control.

I would trade these away and take whatever profits you can.

Keep in mind the foils are still $9.64 despite seeing no modern or legacy play so I would cash out on those too.

1. Goblin Guide (Zendikar)
From $16.62 to $27.69 (66.61%)

Goblin Guide has been having a tremendous week! It is one of the most aggressive one drop creatures ever printed.

Any decent modern or legacy burn deck runs four main deck without question. This is less of a price spike and more of a price correction.

Burn decks have been experiencing success recently with the inclusion of Eidolon of the Great Revel.

I believe this price is here to stay until it is reprinted in either an expansion set or the next Modern Event Deck.

Vendors are still adjusting their prices so you can still get them as low as $20.00. If you have been waiting for this spec to pay off you can cash out up to $22.93 with some vendors.

I would be looking for other opportunities to profit as well. If you can track down a copy of the Into the Breach Event deck from Mirrodin Besieged there are a couple of Guides in there.

I would also take a look at the Grand Prix and foil versions. Both are hovering around $30 right now. There is absolutely no reason why these should not be $50 to $60 soon.

5 Big Losers of the Week

5. Sword of Feast and Famine (Mirrodin Beseiged)
From $22.87 to $18.49 (-19.15%)

Sword of Feast and Famine was recently reprinted in the Modern Event Deck.

Do not let that distract us from the multiple decks it is used in such as legacy UWR (Jeskai) Delver, Esper Stoneblade and Deathblade.

Modern UB Faeries and all manner of commander and cube builders love the swords.

There is no way that this does not bounce back.

To add some gravy you can purchase these as low as $12.00 and sell them for $13.19.

That sounds like more feast than famine.

4. Obstinate Baloth (M11)
From $1.72 to $1.36 (-20.93%)

I do not understand why this is a $1 card.

It is used in sideboards for modern Melira Pod, Jund, Scapeshift, Kiki Pod and Junk (Abzan) builds. It is great when cast normally and fantastic when you get it for free off of an activation of Liliana of the Veil.

Legacy even uses it in 12 Post.

I would gladly trade for these at $1 all day long.

You can even purchase these for as low as $0.61 and sell them for up to $1.10.

3. Silent Arbiter (Fifth Dawn)
From $4.54 to $3.54 (-22.03%)

Silent Arbiter was just reprinted in Conspiracy.

The only competitive deck that runs it is a singleton in legacy MUD sideboards.

Sure you can slot it into your commander deck to slow things down or to build on an exalted theme but it is still not that exciting. Artifact creatures are the permanent with the most answers.

Why spend $4 on this copy when you can get the Conspiracy copy for less than a $1?

Move these while you can.

2. Journeyer’s Kite (Champions of Kamigawa)
From $1.53 to 1.13 (-26.14%)

This commander staple has fallen out of favor. Has mana fixing gotten so good? Maybe more cheap viable commanders are being printed.

Either way the reprint in Duel Decks: Venser vs Koth did not help.

I like the card but I honestly feel it deserves to be a bulk rare.

There are just too many other things to do with extra mana.

1.  Golgari Grave-Troll (Ravnica)
From $1.99 to $1.31 (-34.17%)

Vintage and legacy Dredge and Manaless Dredge decks would run at least a dozen Grave-Trolls given the chance.

The reason that Dredge has never been a serious contender in modern is the banning of Golgari Grave-Troll and Dread Return.

It was reprinted in Duel Decks: Izzet vs Golgari so you can find these for $1.

I do not think that that is sufficient for an enabler and finished in a deck that held two Top 8 spots in the SCG Legacy Open in Washington on 8/24/2014.

I would consider this a sale and grab as many copies as you can. If this is ever unbanned you can be certain this will spike.

You can get these for as little as $0.71 and still sell them for up to $1.18.

When you see buylists offering fair trade value that should get your attention.

By: Jim Marsh

Every week, some cards from Magic the Gathering increase and decease in value based upon a number of factors.

Let’s take a look at some of the cards whose values have changed the most and the factors behind why those changes have occurred.

10 Big Winners of the Week

10. Woodfall Primus (Modern Masters)
From $3.63 to $4.16 (14.60%)

This casual monster is difficult to deal with and takes out multiple problematic noncreature permanents.

It is a favorite in casual and commander decks.

The price tanked when it was reprinted in Modern Masters last year but has been slowly recuperating. I expect these to keep climbing until they get back to around $6.

9. Amulet of Vigor (Worldwake)
From $3.63 to $4.16 (14.60%)

Amulet of Vigor came out of nowhere earlier this year to create a quirky but intriguing fringe deck.

It had been a bulk rare for years but a few prominent displays on camera and the genie is out of the bottle.

Be warned that the deck can be difficult to pilot and inconsistent but it is here to stay. I expect Amulet of Vigor to continue to grow slowly but steadily until it starts getting real results or is reprinted.

You can still pick these up for as little as $2.33 and sell them for as much as $2.51 or just sit on them until they hit $5.

8.  Chandra, the Firebrand (M13)
From $3.64 to $4.31 (18.41%)

Chandra, the Firebrand has some casual appeal. She is used in Commander and Cubes on occasion.

She has seen two printings in core sets. She never really saw any competitive play while she was in standard and nothing to speak of in eternal formats.

I do not see any real justification for the price adjustment. I would trade these away for $4 while you can.

7. Underground River (10^th Edition)
From $3.24 to $3.93 (21.30%)

Enemy painlands have been getting a lot of attention lately with their standard reappearance.

Allied painlands are still relatively cheap pick ups. Underground River is played in Modern UB Faeries. If the deck gets any traction then these will jump.

You can currently buy the 6^th Edition copies for as little as $0.99 and sell them for as much as $1.25.

6. Flames of the Blood Hand (Betrayers of Kamigawa)
From $4.54 to $5.63 (24.01%)

Flames of the Blood Hand is played in Modern Burn and Red Deck Wins.

It is a powerful card out of the sideboard to shut down life gain and keep the deck’s game plan on track. I could not find any recent successes to explain the bump but I find it interesting that the price is approaching the $5.82 that the Premium Fire and Lightning Deck copy goes for.

I would try to snag a few copies of the Fire and Lightning versions before the price adjusts.

5. Orzhov Pontiff (Guildpact)
From $4.87 to $6.19 (27.10%)

Even though Modern Melira Pod only runs a single copy Orzhov Pontiff has been benefiting from Top 8 placements.

This is a bit higher than I would expect to see for a card that is only played as a singleton even if it is in one of the better positioned decks in the metagame.

I would start looking to trade these away.

4. All Is Dust (Rise of the Eldrazi)
From $16.89 to $21.89 (29.72%)

All Is Dust is a colorless sweeper that you can build around. It can get around Regeneration and Indestructibility.

It is a popular inclusion in Commander and Cubes. It is also used in some competitive decks.

Modern uses it in Tron variants and has even seen some Top 8 success with it. Legacy can use it in MUD to get rid of even the toughest True-Name Nemesis.

It somehow was not included in From the Vault: Annihilation so it is safe from reprint for a while.

I would pick up the GP Promo version. It is actually cheaper at $14.89.

3. Legion Loyalist (Gatecrash)
From $3.84 to $4.99 (29.95%)

Legion Loyalist is enjoying a lot of attention in its last few weeks in Standard.

It is in Rabble Red, Boss Sligh and Red Deck Wins variants.

The problem is that is it about to become a bulk rare.

Get out now. The sudden demand has made this a lot easier to buylist to vendors that are trying to fill orders. You can currently buylist these for $2.80 and $5 for the foils.

2. Xenagos, the Reveler (Theros)
From $8.26 to $12.86 (55.69%)

Xenagos, the Reveler was the talk of the town last week. Rabble Red is good for a budget deck but when you want results this is the planeswalker we come to.

He can give you a ritual to ramp into larger threats or give you an unlimited supply of Goblin Guides. It makes the Raging Goblins that Goblin Rabblemaster spits out look anemic.

Although Xenagos requires two colors of mana he still shows up in a surprising variety of Top 8 decks. He is played in Jund Walkers, Jund Monsters, GR devotion and Brave Naya.

He will probably be finding a home in Temur (RUG) decks soon. I really like him as a pick up if you can still find him under $10. I could see him getting to $20 or more after rotation.

1. Squelch (Champions of Kamigawa)
From $2.04 to $3.32 (62.75%)

What happened to Squelch? You could still find these for a dollar just a week or two ago.

Mono U Tron runs a pair in the sideboard. It is an appealing deck because it is relatively cheap. You only need a single copy of the expensive cards and even the play set of Remand is lot cheaper thanks to Jace vs. Vraska.

This is the closest we get to Stifle in Modern which comes in handy when someone is trying to crack a fetchland or activate Birthing Pod.

That being said how much higher can Squelch get? There are only so many uncommons that command $4 and they are casual or competitive all stars. This is certainly not on the same level as Tectonic Edge or Spell Snare.

I would unload these while you can. Hopefully you stocked up the past few weeks I have been mentioning it. Now it is pay day.

5 Big Losers of the Week

5. Eight-and-a-Half-Tails (Champions of Kamigawa)
From $7.58 to $6.71 (-11.48%)

Eight-and-a-Half-Tails has a name and creature type that makes it very difficult to reprint outside of a supplementary product.

He is a white Cancel on a stick which is helpful for protecting your permanents or even pushing through late game damage past your opponents defense.

It is played in modern Death and Taxes and works very well with the Aether Vials the deck packs.

Kamigawa was a long time ago and all indications are that we are not going back any time soon. Supply is low and not going anywhere.

I like these as long term holds. They will continue to grow in value. At the very least it is a unique white commander that offers abilities that other commanders in the color are unlikely to replicate.

4. Endless Horizons (Eventide)
From $6.90 to $6.00 (-13.04%)

Endless Horizons is used in some commander decks and in modern Mono-White Prison as a singleton.

The effect is interesting but has some inherent risks.

It used to be $2 at the beginning of the year. Overnight it was bought out and vendors adjusted the prices accordingly. It has not really earned its place.

This card is going to keep going down until it hits the $3 to $4 range and sit there. I would trade these away while you can.

3. Demigod of Revenge (Modern Masters)
From $3.55 to $3.07 (-13.52%)

Demigod of Revenge was a victim of Modern Masters. It has been outclassed in terms of reanimation targets and does not even get a place in most Dredgevine Decks.

It is still a great casual card and usually gets traded in play sets but it was a prerelease promo and now it has been reprinted without any additional demand.

I think you will soon be able to pick up your play set for under $10. Get out.

2. Nomad Mythmaker (10^th Edition)
From $2.61 to $2.19 (-16.09%)

I keep forgetting this card exists. That is because even in decks it should be good in it is slow and clunky. How many auras are worth reanimating?

I would rather have Sovereigns of Lost Alara or Bruna, Light of Alabaster for my $2 aura enabler.

Only the most casual of aura decks is looking at this card. That does not mean that is useless to us.

You can still buy them for as little as $1.20 and sell them for $1.52.

Even better the Judgment foil can be purchased for $1.36 and sold for $2.00.

1. Banishing Light (Journey into Nyx)
From $3.06 to $2.56 (-16.34%)

Banishing Light is going to be a constant presence in standard for at least the next year. It has been used in Orzhov Midrange, Azorius Control, Selesnya Aggro and even Boros Burn decks.

It deals with any problems you have and is an easy splash.

However this is going to be reprinted in core sets for a long time to come.

Modern already has Oblivion Ring and Detention Sphere. It does not need Banishing Light as well.

Keep a play set to for your standard decks but I would buylist the rest for $1.28 while you can. Or trade them for cheap gods like Ephara, Karametra and Kruphix.

By: Jim Marsh

Every week, some cards from Magic the Gathering increase and decease in value based upon a number of factors.

Let’s take a look at some of the cards whose values have changed the most and the factors behind why those changes have occurred.

10 Big Winners of the Week

10. Fauna Shaman (M11)
From $7.01 to $8.01 (15.55%)

Fauna Shaman is in an interesting place. It is a powerful effect but it is just too slow to be playable in several decks.

Some Modern Kiki-Pod decks experiment with it. I am sure Combo Elves variants in Modern and Legacy are constantly brewing with it.

That is not to say that it does not have its home.

Commander and Cube players often make good use of the Shaman.

This card will continue to grow slowly and steadily for a long time to come until someone does finally break the card and everyone starts scrambling for a play set.

9. Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker
From $4.10 to $4.91 (19.76%)

Michiko is an interesting white commander. She just looks at you with her warning smile daring anyone to come attack you. She is the right color for all kinds of life gain to offset any life lost.

She is from a third set that was released a decade ago. There is little supply with a unique and powerful effect.  I would trade for her and let the value continue to grow. She is so tied into the flavor of a plane we are certain not to revisit that I would be surprised if she ever saw a reprint.

8. Porphyry Nodes (Planar Chaos)
From $4.19 to $5.35

Porphyry Nodes is potential repeatable removal. It makes a very potent sideboard card. It keeps aggressive decks in check and can get around hexproof, shroud and protection.

It is sometimes seen in WUR (Jeskai) Control and Delver decks.

I would trade for these at $4 and hold onto them. The last time they got attention on camera during a major tournament prices spiked to $8.

7. Legion Loyalist (Gatecrash)
From $3.59 to $4.62 (28.695)

Rabble Red and Boss Sligh have given the Loyalist a big last hurrah before rotation.

The deck does well on MTGO dailies but so far has not seen any success in person beyond Top 16s.

Everyone wants to put this deck together and try it out at FNM.

I think the hype will settle and people will soon be looking to get out while there is still some value to be had.

I would trade these now and not look back.

6. Pithing Needle (Saviors of Kamigawa)
From $2.63 to $3.40 (29.28%)

Pithing Needle is a singleton is roughly half of legacy sideboards. It is also used in some modern and standard sideboards.

It has been printed four times. Saviors of Kamigawa was a third set in a block. Tenth Edition and M10 were core sets.

The most recent printing was in Return to Ravnica which was one of the most opened large sets ever. It was an incredible draft environment with many modern and legacy staples.

There are a lot of copies out there now.

Standard players will no longer need it and will be looking to unload it on a market that already picked up the copies they needed a long time ago.

The price is going back to around $2 in a month. Move these if you can.

5. Ad Nauseam (Shards of Alara)
From $3.26 to $4.30 (31.90%)

Ad Nauseam is a powerful way to draw your deck and finish off your opponent on their end step.

It is used in Modern Ad Nauseam and Legacy ANT and TES.

The SCG Legacy open on 8/10/2014 in Syracuse has an Ad Nauseam deck place in the Top 16. It is a fringe deck but can pop up unexpectedly depending on the metagame.

I like trading for these at $3 since the price is low and it sees play in eternal formats.

Other pieces of the deck can be pretty cheap as well. You can buy Phyrexian Unlife for as low as $0.26 and sell them for up to $0.51.

4. Enduring Ideal (Saviors of Kamigawa)
From $2.59 to $3.49 (34.75%)

Theros block recently introduced several powerful enchantments including gods. This always gets casual players pulling out their copies of Enduring Ideal and Sigil of the Empty Throne.

People are brewing with the Ideal of Modern success but nothing has gained any traction.

The deck needs powerful finishers. Assemble the Legions and Form of the Dragon are not quick enough.

I would trade them if someone if looking for them.

3. Kataki, War’s Wage (Saviors of Kamigawa)
From $2.28 to $3.46 (51.75%)

Ensoul Artifact has a lot of players looking at Affinity. When affinity gets attention then anti artifact cards get added to sideboards.

Kataki fits in several Modern deck archetypes including BW tokens, Melira Pod, Kiki-Pod, Soul Sisters, GW Hatesbears and more.

It even gets played in some vintage sideboards. The problem is that it has been reprinted so much recently. It was in Modern Masters and the Modern Event Deck.

I doubt it will be able to keep up the price.

You can purchase them for as little as $1.48 and sell them for as much as $2.60.

The Modern Masters copy also has an opportunity for profit. You can buy them for as little as $0.79 and sell them for as much as $1.26.

2. Terra Stomper (Zendikar)
From $2.12 to $3.52 (66.04%)

Terra Stomper is standard legal for the next year thanks to M15 Planeswalker decks and the Deckbuiler’s Toolikit.

The biggest problem it has it that the deck that Monogreen Devotion has so many other powerful options. Arbor Colossus, Hornet Queen, Genesis Hydra and Polukranos are all fighting for the same spot in the deck.

Mistcutter Hydra wants the sideboard space against control.

This leaves Terra Stomper without a home. I would trade these away aggressively.

1. Squelch (Champions of Kamigawa)
From $1.34 to $2.28 (70.15%)

Squelch looks at a modern metagame filled with fetchlands, pod activations and planeswalker abilities and rubs its hands together.

It has only been printed once.

So far only Modern Mono-Blue Tron runs it. I would try to stock up on $1 copies and wait for it to get noticed.

5 Big Losers of the Week

5. Norin the Wary (Time Spiral)
From $4.05 to $3.67 (-9.38%)

I love Norin the Wary. He has provided some great flavor text over the years. Every once in a while someone toys with a crazy rogue deck featuring him.

The most recent flavor was a Boros Soul Sisters that used Purphoros, God of the Forge to deal lots of damage while Norin played peekaboo.

The bump he got in price is coming down as it should.

I would trade for Purphoros though. His buylist and vendor price are both $4.00. He is a powerful commander and he just needs creatures to become good. I think he has a lot of potential.

4. Master of the Feast (Journey into Nyx)
From $3.70 to $3.28 (-11.35%)

Can Mono-Black Devotion survive the rotation of Pack Rat and Desecration Demon? If the answer is yes then Master of the Feast is a prime candidate for replacing the demon.

An upcoming wedge set suggests time to set up mana bases. I think that rotation would be a great opportunity for an aggressive monoblack deck to take charge.

3. Lifebane Zombie (M14)
From $3.86 to $3.25 (-15.80%)

Lifebane Zombie sees play in a variety of standard decks but is having trouble breaking into modern Jund and Golgari Midrange decks.

It will continue to decrease in price over the coming weeks. I would get out now. After rotation these should become bulk rares which you can pick up if you think it is good enough for a modern sideboard.

2. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth (Planar Chaos)
From $20.66 to $17.05 (-17.47%)

Urborg is taking a beating for being reprinted in M15.

Let us not forget that it is used in Legacy and Modern decks of all varieties. It is going to be an automatic inclusion in every black deck in standard for the next year.

The price will not be done dropping until Khans of Tarkir is released.

You can currently purchase them for as low as $10.99 and sell them for as much as $14.40. f you have been slow to unload then this is your chance.

1. Rebuff the Wicked (Planar Chaos)
From $1.81 to $1.44 (-20.44%)

Rebuff the Wicked is an interesting inclusion in white commander decks.

It is a counterspell for one white mana. It is not a card that people are thinking of playing around. It protects your commander and any other permanents you have.

I love finding these in collections I buy.

I would hold onto them and wait for the price to get back to $2.

If you do not have faith in that happening you can still buylist them for $0.50.

By: Ian Shore

One of the most important things in this game is learning to read the tea leaves. Watching tournament reports, learning to evaluate cards, and knowing basic archetype strengths and weaknesses can help you evaluate data and start to learn to predict player and price behavior. The same is true of watching WotC’s behavior. MaRo’s blog, their two-year development cycle, their seven year “plan” cycles – watching how they work over the years can give you insights into where we’re going next, and might help you make and/or save some money along the way. We’ve had a lot going on over the last month or so, and I believe it’s telling us that we may be entering some new territory over the next few months. As always, this could be totally off. But that’s not going to stop me from introducing potential future #1:

1. Standard may be changing.

A weekend or two ago it was announced that all four PTs in 2015 would be featuring the Standard format.  When asked why Modern was not being featured, the response was that Modern was stale and not “dynamic,” didn’t feature the newest MTG release, and that they didn’t want to have to resort to bans in order to get a fresh format every year. Standard certainly makes sense, in terms of featuring the newest release, but the last two years of Sphinx’s Revelation certainly do not bring the words “dynamic” to mind. The last few sets have only had a marginal shake-up of the format.  The best decks usually have enough good tools to continue being good, and often end up getting even more tools to work with.

And WotC knows this. Which makes the decision to go mono-Standard a bit more puzzling, in that the “change” they desire doesn’t seem to be something that regularly occurs in the format. On the most recent godbook survey, players were asked how they felt about the length of time that cards spent in Standard.  However, Aaron Forsythe recently ruled out a possible three-year extension to Standard, as it would keep problem cards in the format for far too long.

What, then, could be the change? The only other alternative solution would appear to be a move to an “eight set” rotation, rather than the two most recent blocks.  Much like seven-set Extended, when a new set was released, it would simply knock the oldest set out of the format.  This would most definitely create the “dynamism” that WotC is looking for on the Pro Tour, as each event would have cards exiting AND entering the format simultaneously, keeping the format churning month to month.  This would also extend the length of time that 2nd/3rd sets are relevant in Standard, eliminating the “seasonal” cycle we’ve seen with PTQ seasons, rotation, and the concurrent ebb and flow of prices.  It would also almost certainly increase sales for WotC, now that all sets would be in Standard for approximately two years.

And most importantly, it would “solve” most of the issues they have been fighting against with the format in regards to tournament exposure.  Moving to an all-Standard PT set with the current Standard setup would likely start to result in more bans over the long run. Culling MTGO results doesn’t seem to have accomplished much in this regard, as the very large data set provided by SCG, TCGP, and WotC Organized Play results in metagames being very quickly established.  We know they (and we) have been frustrated by their inability to make open-ended, interesting format.  #SaitoWayfinder, Pat Chapin, and many others do their very best to try and both troll the world and open up the format, but the relentless tyranny of Sphinx’s Revelation or Thoughtseize decks ends up quickly stamping out the fun for people.

A change to Standard would be a radical change, but they’ve been making a number of those over the last 5-6 years. This would simply be another one, and it’d be one they could easily revert if, after the next year, it didn’t test very well. It’s a risky proposition, but one that could pay off huge for them.  Speaking of things that are going to pay off huge…

8/13 edit: Apparently, I am not alone, as Chapin himself suggested a six-set rotating structure in a recent SCG article. I do think, however, that this would be too problematic, regarding both manabases and sets not being in Standard long enough, and that eight sets would keep things in a much happier place for most players.

2. Modern Masters 2 is likely releasing on 5/29. The North Amercan “TBD” GP location is Vegas.

Many of us have assumed that MM2 was coming this year, given the massive success of MM1, and the two – year Dev cycle that WotC works on. We’ve been getting indirect confirmation of this over the past few weeks. The first indication was at the SDCC panel. The small “bridge” set for Khans block is being released in January, a month earlier than normal. The large Spring set is coming out in March, one or two months earlier than normal. On the PT schedule, the Summer PT isn’t occurring until August. Meaning that there is now a 4-month gap between the Spring PT in early April, and the Summer PT in early fall.

And what could possibly be located, smack dab in the center of those? 3 “Location TBD” GP tournaments happening simultaneously on the last weekend in May. (notably, NOT Memorial day.)  An unprecedented occurrence, one that we were told to “mark our calendars” for by Rich Hagon on the final day of the PT broadcast. The locations clearly aren’t “TBD” – they work too far out in advance for them to be undecided. So why hide them? Because announcing Vegas would give away what’s about to occur.

But that’s not all. Three Modern GPs are scheduled immediately following this event, one in the US, one in Asia, and one in Europe.  I can’t tell you what to sell, or when, but I would strongly suggest moving Liliana of the Veil, a card that’s near-guaranteed to be reprinted in the set, or in a near-future core set like M16. Also, something we’ll also likely see? The Eldrazi legends. Why?

3. We are going back to Zendikar for at least part of the next block. Oh, and Delve is in Khans

In case you hadn’t been following Mark Rosewater’s Tumblr, Blogatog, he answers a lot of questions there. He likes being able to get the direct feedback, and contrast it with his market research, as well as to just get quick feedback regarding product direction and mechanics that he can’t otherwise get.

About a year ago, he suddenly started asking players a lot about Zendikar a. What would they expect of a return to the plane? What mechanics? Did they like annihilator? Would they expect the OG Eldrazi legends? And 3-4 months later, suddenly, we started to have answers. Annhilator was “likely” not returning when the Eldrazi did. The next time we see the Eldrazi legends, they would “likely” have new cards.  You read MaRo’s tea leaves by noticing which questions he’s choosing to answer. This question in particular reads a lot more interestingly now than it did a few weeks ago: http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/57332759132/do-you-think-that-theres-enough-space-in-colorless-vs

In a similar vein – Mark’s brought up Delve a lot in the past month, and he’s previously emphasized it needed to NOT be in a GY-focused set, since it eats up graveyards and promotes non-interaction with them. Given this uptick in mentions, alongside the description of the mechanic at the SDCC panel, it’s almost certainly the BUG mechanic for Khans.

But, going back to Zendikar – we can also look at the most recent Planeswalker Guide on the WotC website, where there’s a very strong focus on the Planeswalkers who surround the storyline of the original Zendikar block.  By itself, it means little. But in conjunction with Maro’s blog, the M15 usage of Zendikar, and all sorts of other factors, the constellation being formed points in a single direction.

So we know that Zendikar is coming up soon, seven years after the original block. Oh, and the original Zendikar block came up seven years after Onslaught block.  Huh. What did those two sets have in common? Oh right.

4. The fetchlands are coming.

Aaron, Mark, and the other members of OP and R&D were shocked at the reaction to the Standard PT and PPTQ announcements, particularly as it related to the Modern format. From our outside point of view, it shouldn’t be surprising at all. But why was theirs different? Because they were aware of many things we weren’t.  Modern Masters 2 is one of them. But simply printing Modern Masters 2 wouldn’t really do much to address the larger issues with manabases in the format being hyper-expensive, the biggest barrier to entry problem that the format has.  So in order to get players into the format, you need to reduce those costs and make the manabases accessible. That means reprinting the biggest chokepoint in the format, and doing it through Standard.

That means Fetchlands.

Now, it’s been six years since we last saw Enemy Fetchlands, and thirteen since we last saw allied ones. We’re at the point where they’d naturally be reprinted anyway. Zendikar II (Reign of the Eldrazi?) is coming up in Fall 2015, and would be a natural fit for them. But in a year in which they are going to be making a massive push for Modern in May, that’s actually too late for them to assist, especially when trying to bump turnout at an event like GP Charlotte, run by none other than SCG, TO for the record-setting GP: Richmond.

This means that an appearance in Khans block by the OG Onslaught Fetchlands is actually quite likely. Especially given that we’re time-travelling in the block to an “Earlier Era” where dragons are everywhere. This would allow for the Enemy Fetchlands to be shelved for later, or simply reprinted in Zendikar block.

It is very unlikely, btw, that these lands show up in Modern Masters 2. They’re well aware of the barrier to entry problem that they present, and reprinting them in MM2 simply wouldn’t do enough to ease the supply issues on the basic lands. If we do get a land cycle in there, the Shadowmoor/Eventide Filterlands would be a much more appropriate set to use, given that they seemed to let people play a little too fast and loose with mana while they were in Standard. The allied manlands are another potential option, but given that putting the Enemy ones in Zendikar II would be an easy call, I suspect we may end up seeing those allied ones show up in a core set some day soon, given the need to reprint Colonnade.

And with four reasonable predictions out of the way, I’ll end with a crazy guess.

5. Tarkir is Dominaria

Morph, Arcanis in the Duel Deck (Onslaught), the first wedge cycles (Apocalypse), time travel (Time Spiral), a dragon Set (Scourge.)  Where else could Tarkir be taking place but Magic’s home? 😛 Yeah, I’m probably wrong on this, but conspiracy theories are fun!

Obviously, only the folks over at WotC know the future, but that doesn’t prevent us from being able to profit off of it. If you can figure out what’s coming next, you can figure out what to do right now.